California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) has to be a man of several hats – serious, visionary, and funny – all in the nine to 20 minutes he will likely give to his State of the State address Monday afternoon.

With giddy delight, he set a tone at his Jan. 3 inaugural that he intends to be a no-nonsense, practical governor who won’t squander political good will early. He has followed that with a three-pronged proposal to deal with the state’s $25.4 billion deficit: legislative spending cuts, followed by a special election to extend certain tax rates, and last the final budget for the legislature to pass.

His challenge Monday is to sell the complicated plan to the public and key legislators. It will likely leave little room for laundry lists of other priorities. For Governor Brown at this moment, the budget requires his near-total attention.